Sei Investments Co. Buys 24,884 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its Ameris Bancorp stake by 22.9%, purchasing 24,884 shares to own 133,444 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 91.6% of the company.
• Ameris Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.60, missing the $1.66 consensus estimate, while revenue of $317.78 million also fell short of expectations. Analysts project full-year EPS of $4.99.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a 0.9% yield. Wall Street’s consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $91.67 versus a recent share price of $87.41.

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 22.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,444 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 24,884 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.20% of Ameris Bancorp worth $10,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,673,000. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,737,028 shares of the bank's stock worth $203,279,000 after buying an additional 755,967 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $42,270,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 134.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 931,911 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,318,000 after acquiring an additional 534,830 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,214 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,320,000 after acquiring an additional 414,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $87.41 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $65.43 and a 12-month high of $93.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.62.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $317.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.78 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ABCB. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial cut Ameris Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ameris Bancorp to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Stephens set a $88.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.67.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.